[TMRA] ARRL Sweepstakes this weekend! (Ham HF Contest)

[Joe Thielen]

For those of you that don't know, the ARRL Sweepstakes HF contest is this
weekend for SSB voice.  I did this last year for the first time and it was
really fun.

If my UTC conversion is right, it runs from tomorrow (Saturday) at 5PM local
time to Sunday 11PM local time.  As with most any other HF contest, the
applicable bands are 10M, 15M, 20M, 40M, 80M/75M, & 160M.  It's 30 hours
long, but you're only allowed to operate for 24 hours out of the 30.  How do
they know if you've not followed this rule?  They look at your log.  If
you've got logs during the entire 30 hours, that's a red flag.

More information can be found at:

http://www.arrl.org/sweepstakes

If you've never done a contest like this, it might sound confusing when
listening.  But basically once you've got the other guys attention, here is
what you need to say to the guy (this is called the "Exchange"):

- THE OTHER GUYS CALL SIGN
- "Serial Number"... this is a number that starts with "1".  Each time you
make a contact, the number goes up... so the next guy you tell "2", then
"3", so on and so forth...
- "Precedence"... this basically identifies what kind of station you are.
An individual running 150 watts or less would use a precedence of "A"
(Alfa).  There are a few of these, check rules for more information (in the
"Exchange" section).
- YOUR CALL
- "Check"... This consists of TWO parts...
----- PART 1:  This is simply the last two digits of the year you were
licensed (if you are running as an individual).  I was licensed in 2008.  My
"check" would be 08 (zero-eight).  This sometimes confuses older hams
though... they're expecting something from the 19?? era (yes, I have
experienced this).  So they may re-ask for this, you have to specify 2-0-0-8
or 20-0-8 or whatever you have to do to make them understand you.
----- PART 2:  Your ARRL SECTION.  If you are operating in Ohio, this is
"OH".  Michigan would be "MI".  I was in Kentucky last year, so I was using
"KY" (since that's where I was).   I had to look this up last year because
I'm a "native 8", but my call-sign has a "zero" in it, and I was in
Kentucky.  I had several comments like "Why would a zero call be in
Kentucky?".  Doesn't matter, it's where you're operating at.  The point of
this part of the check is to let the other guy know where you're at.  If you
live in Alaska (AK), but you're operating from Ohio, that's not fair to say
AK, because that's a hard one to get and you'd be basically giving that out
like candy.

So, for example, the first guy I would talk to, I would say something like:
(THEIR CALL SIGN) 1 A KJ0EYT 08 OH

Phonetically:
(THEIR CALL SIGN, PHONETICALLY) ONE ALFA KILO JULIET ZERO ECHO YANKEE TANGO
ZERO EIGHT OSCAR HOTEL

It's important that the other person repeat what you've said.  That way, you
know they got it right.  If not, you have to correct them.  Otherwise,
they'll put it in their log incorrectly, and NEITHER of you will get credit
for that QSO.

In addition, YOU have to record in your log what the other person said.
Each piece.  So you'll need to repeat what they said to you, too, to make
sure you've got it correct.  DO NOT GET FRUSTRATED if you have to repeat
multiple times.  That's part of the challenge.  Last year I had issues with
both the "Kentucky" part of the exchange as well as my license year.  You
might have to repeat the same thing 5 or 6 times.  But if you give up,
you've just wasted that time!

If you're not familiar with this contest, or contesting in general, PLEASE
read the rules.  They are quite helpful.  Be careful when asking questions
about the contest itself DURING the contest on HF though.  Some hams are out
for big scores, and they may be rude to you about it... they just want to
get the QSO and move on to the next one.  Many will be helpful, but you may
indeed catch flak.  This is usually a very fast-paced contest.

http://www.arrl.org/sweepstakes

Anyway, this is a really fun contest and I encourage all to take a look at
it during this gloomy November almost winter pre-holiday weekend :)